Martin In For Injured Hamlin At JGR

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Veteran driver Mark Martin has been named the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing while regular driver Denny Hamlin recovers from a broken back.

Martin had previously committed to driving several races for Michael Waltrip Racing in the No. 55 Toyota during the six weeks it is expected to take Hamlin to recover from his injury, but MWR has given its blessing to Martin to drive for JGR.

MWR has made no announcement as to who will drive the No. 55 Toyota in the coming weeks, but Brian Vickers is expected to be named to drive that car in the near future.

“We’ve been real fortunate to have never been in this situation with the need to find someone to fill in for an injured driver,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. “A lot goes into a decision like this but we are really pleased to have someone of the character and caliber of Mark Martin to fill in while Denny is out. Obviously we’re not exactly sure how long that is going to take, but Mark’s career speaks for itself and our team knows it will have the opportunity to compete for a win every week.”

Hamlin suffered an L1 compression fracture during the last-lap crash in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.